EU and Schengen-associated countries issued about 8.5 million Schengen visas last year. Nationals of Türkiye, India, and China dominantly got most of the uniform visas from around the world. Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece issued most of these visas (one-third of the total).
Schengen Visa Statistics 2023
According to the EU statistical data, the Schengen visa numbers have recovered from the post-pandemic situation—compared to it, three times more people applied for Schengen visas which count to an overall 10.3 million in 2023. From India, 43% more visa applications have been submitted which helped it retain the 3rd position compared to the previous year. Visa applications also increased from China where it got back its first position that it also had in 2019.
The countries that issued most Schengen visas
It was highly unexpected that Germany would stand out as the number one country in terms of most Schengen visas issued to non-EU nationals. It is the only member state that issued more than a million visa approvals. France, Italy, and Greece also issued a large number of uniform visas.
Schengen Countries | Uniform visas applied for | Multiple entry uniform visas (MEVs) issued | Total LTVs issued | Uniform visas not issued |
Germany | 1,459,560 | 1,115,424 | 12,517 | 208,155 |
France | 2,625,846 | 791,417 | 6,312 | 436,893 |
Italy | 1,108,035 | 680,794 | 4,467 | 133,495 |
Switzerland | 603,261 | 349,862 | 32,365 | 64,397 |
Greece | 627,008 | 344,668 | 8,610 | 91,379 |
Netherlands | 669,291 | 326,018 | 2,146 | 114,269 |
Spain | 1,413,222 | 297,215 | 14,139 | 251,470 |
Austria | 229,613 | 147,021 | 2,418 | 32,922 |
Belgium | 225,951 | 94,854 | 401 | 60,148 |
Portugal | 207,654 | 92,414 | 613 | 33,220 |
Hungary | 215,799 | 79,105 | 198 | 32,641 |
Poland | 124,057 | 56,103 | 1,298 | 18,564 |
Czech Republic | 138,840 | 39,359 | 552 | 24,218 |
Denmark | 107,872 | 36,576 | 99 | 21,509 |
Sweden | 169,151 | 31,732 | 5,069 | 38,680 |
Norway | 108,536 | 20,594 | 1,282 | 17,457 |
Croatia | 38,511 | 18,454 | 376 | 7,561 |
Lithuania | 30,668 | 15,227 | 396 | 3,911 |
Finland | 92,078 | 14,702 | 4,034 | 16,602 |
Latvia | 18,897 | 9,124 | 295 | 2,208 |
Iceland | 22,541 | 8,549 | 6 | 474 |
Malta | 33,306 | 8,223 | 41 | 12,261 |
Slovenia | 19,990 | 7,529 | 4,112 | 3,097 |
Slovakia | 13,468 | 5,943 | 203 | 1,752 |
Luxembourg | 11,227 | 5,362 | 140 | 1,354 |
Estonia | 13,190 | 4,865 | 696 | 4,347 |
Total | 10,327,572 | 4,601,134 | 102,785 | 1,632,984 |
Countries to which most visas were applied
Sams as a past exercise, most of the people applied for the Schengen visa for France. The country kept last year it records of being most of the time among the top five EU countries. Germany stood out surprisingly at 2nd position in the list and 1.45 million non-EU nationals applied for its visa. More than a million people also opted for Italy and the Netherlands.
Schengen State | Uniform visas applied for |
France | 2,625,846 |
Germany | 1,459,560 |
Spain | 1,413,222 |
Italy | 1,108,035 |
Netherlands | 669,291 |
Greece | 627,008 |
Switzerland | 603,261 |
Austria | 229,613 |
Belgium | 225,951 |
Hungary | 215,799 |
Portugal | 207,654 |
Sweden | 169,151 |
Czech Republic | 138,840 |
Poland | 124,057 |
Norway | 108,536 |
Denmark | 107,872 |
Finland | 92,078 |
Croatia | 38,511 |
Malta | 33,306 |
Lithuania | 30,668 |
Iceland | 22,541 |
Slovenia | 19,990 |
Latvia | 18,897 |
Slovakia | 13,468 |
Estonia | 13,190 |
Luxembourg | 11,227 |
Total | 10,327,572 |
Third countries that had high refusal numbers
The overall refusal rate remained at 16%. On the other hand, in some countries, the percentage increased for refusals such as Belarus (3.4%), Russia (10.6%), Türkiye (16.1%), and Iran (30.3%).
The overall refusal rate went down but for some countries’ nationals, it was again a nightmare. Countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Senegal along with many others had a visa success ratio of less than 25%. This is obvious as the EU has been having issues with these countries due to asylum seekers and repatriation issues.
These countries are also awarded less number of multiple-entry visas. The EU is already adopting tougher rules with the non-EU countries that do not cooperate on the issue of illegal migration and asylum seekers. A current example is Ethiopia which has been placed under these rules.
Nationals of third countries that got Schengen visas approved
Citizens of Türkiye were able to get most of the Schengen visas in 2023. Indian nationals remained at position two followed by Chinese nationals.
Member states issued about 4.6 million multiple-entry Schengen visas in 2023 (54.3% of the total number of visas issued). About 85,200 visas were issued at the external borders. The rest of the percentage is divided into LTVs and single-entry uniform visas.
Country where the consulate is located | Uniform visas applied for | Multiple entry uniform visas (MEVs) issued | Total LTVs issued | Uniform visas not issued |
CHINA | 1,117,365 | 435,623 | 442 | 60,554 |
TÜRKIYE | 1,055,885 | 612,841 | 13,611 | 169,514 |
INDIA | 966,687 | 505,053 | 352 | 151,752 |
MOROCCO | 591,401 | 233,018 | 766 | 136,367 |
RUSSIAN FEDERATION | 520,387 | 220,928 | 10,308 | 54,293 |
ALGERIA | 474,032 | 86,787 | 2,215 | 166,260 |
SAUDI ARABIA | 428,954 | 357,508 | 973 | 25,672 |
UNITED KINGDOM | 405,631 | 185,720 | 670 | 22,767 |
THAILAND | 270,504 | 112,468 | 77 | 18,082 |
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | 233,932 | 90,650 | 1,612 | 52,485 |
INDONESIA | 207,977 | 75,987 | 161 | 11,467 |
SOUTH AFRICA | 204,221 | 134,339 | 61 | 9,711 |
PHILIPPINES | 200,973 | 125,517 | 38 | 11,762 |
EGYPT | 188,581 | 73,983 | 622 | 46,931 |
KUWAIT | 179,444 | 130,585 | 325 | 12,069 |
USA | 174,258 | 82,142 | 5,824 | 6,651 |
BELARUS | 163,979 | 138,018 | 90 | 5,519 |
IRAN | 162,026 | 41,756 | 2,246 | 48,343 |
TUNISIA | 159,740 | 75,446 | 298 | 38,893 |
KAZAKHSTAN | 159,072 | 57,355 | 159 | 14,285 |
KOSOVO | 120,573 | 61,006 | 41,276 | 15,338 |
LEBANON | 117,401 | 50,485 | 2,167 | 21,346 |
NIGERIA | 105,926 | 25,065 | 207 | 42,940 |
QATAR | 103,778 | 65,143 | 496 | 15,216 |
VIETNAM | 103,501 | 25,199 | 131 | 12,510 |
ECUADOR | 93,415 | 23,285 | 63 | 22,250 |
PAKISTAN | 86,698 | 19,811 | 1,702 | 41,798 |
ARMENIA | 80,356 | 30,192 | 104 | 10,531 |
AZERBAIJAN | 78,955 | 29,894 | 77 | 6,645 |
ANGOLA | 72,549 | 26,260 | 8 | 20,427 |
COTE D’IVOIRE | 71,414 | 18,651 | 64 | 24,733 |
SENEGAL | 64,392 | 12,665 | 37 | 26,497 |
JORDAN | 64,303 | 30,339 | 778 | 11,234 |
IRAQ | 58,165 | 17,555 | 559 | 20,189 |
KENYA | 56,187 | 15,835 | 454 | 12,954 |
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 52,699 | 12,535 | 10 | 13,268 |
CUBA | 47,792 | 8,772 | 32 | 12,079 |
UZBEKISTAN | 46,503 | 13,314 | 358 | 7,654 |
GHANA | 45,421 | 9,558 | 22 | 21,226 |
CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC) | 41,317 | 16,873 | 1,572 | 10,488 |
BANGLADESH | 39,729 | 10,972 | 61 | 17,015 |
CAMEROON | 39,031 | 8,298 | 28 | 12,155 |
OMAN | 38,876 | 30,077 | 30 | 3,925 |
SINGAPORE | 35,643 | 16,783 | 161 | 1,486 |
CANADA | 35,087 | 15,730 | 100 | 1,854 |
IRELAND | 32,380 | 16,074 | 36 | 474 |
ISRAEL | 28,203 | 9,006 | 874 | 3,492 |
KYRGYZSTAN | 27,163 | 6,725 | 49 | 5,104 |
ETHIOPIA | 24,665 | 3,880 | 359 | 8,168 |
SRI LANKA | 24,654 | 5,584 | 142 | 9,320 |
LIBYA | 24,428 | 10,798 | 463 | 5,676 |
MAURITANIA | 23,253 | 6,752 | 62 | 8,289 |
BAHRAIN | 22,709 | 18,946 | 2 | 1,914 |
CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) | 21,778 | 2,918 | 135 | 7,315 |
MONGOLIA | 20,865 | 5,127 | 0 | 4,338 |
BOLIVIA | 20,802 | 2,337 | 2 | 7,368 |
MALI | 20,760 | 3,572 | 54 | 9,637 |
MOZAMBIQUE | 20,313 | 3,805 | 5 | 1,723 |
SURINAME | 19,891 | 7,620 | 11 | 3,049 |
GABON | 19,300 | 4,783 | 4 | 4,942 |
CAPE VERDE | 18,341 | 7,976 | 2 | 4,380 |
MADAGASCAR | 16,683 | 5,442 | 5 | 5,424 |
UGANDA | 15,936 | 3,483 | 45 | 4,754 |
BENIN | 15,758 | 2,883 | 16 | 4,398 |
AUSTRALIA | 14,855 | 6,769 | 25 | 415 |
GUINEA | 14,155 | 1,764 | 8 | 6,021 |
TANZANIA | 13,030 | 2,975 | 76 | 2,525 |
HONG KONG S.A.R. | 12,908 | 5,593 | 2 | 370 |
SERBIA | 12,174 | 4,704 | 57 | 862 |
CAMBODIA | 12,118 | 2,952 | 0 | 1,375 |
RWANDA | 11,668 | 2,509 | 57 | 3,147 |
BURKINA FASO | 11,656 | 3,600 | 11 | 3,105 |
JAPAN | 11,590 | 3,439 | 17 | 637 |
EQUATORIAL GUINEA | 11,368 | 1,700 | 653 | 3,190 |
CYPRUS | 10,876 | 3,979 | 56 | 1,343 |
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE | 9,582 | 653 | 17 | 340 |
TOGO | 8,801 | 2,068 | 0 | 2,839 |
NORTH MACEDONIA | 8,560 | 1,198 | 6,396 | 1,104 |
CHAD | 8,380 | 1,896 | 1 | 2,095 |
NEPAL | 8,165 | 3,320 | 1 | 2,928 |
ZIMBABWE | 7,856 | 2,721 | 6 | 851 |
MYANMAR | 7,012 | 3,130 | 12 | 1,169 |
HAITI | 6,721 | 410 | 0 | 2,780 |
GEORGIA | 6,385 | 1,730 | 125 | 1,236 |
UKRAINE | 6,131 | 1,471 | 17 | 796 |
ROMANIA | 6,053 | 2,556 | 22 | 643 |
TURKMENISTAN | 6,029 | 2,314 | 378 | 527 |
NIGER | 5,689 | 1,343 | 49 | 1,177 |
NAMIBIA | 5,575 | 3,709 | 4 | 271 |
GUINEA-BISSAU | 5,493 | 716 | 1 | 2,634 |
BULGARIA | 5,459 | 3,126 | 32 | 235 |
MALAYSIA | 5,384 | 1,881 | 9 | 1,026 |
JAMAICA | 5,018 | 1,907 | 0 | 325 |
GREECE | 4,894 | 676 | 6 | 2,744 |
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY | 4,780 | 3,175 | 54 | 477 |
DJIBOUTI | 4,661 | 1,017 | 1 | 1,137 |
TAJIKISTAN | 4,629 | 1,248 | 109 | 1,487 |
LAOS | 4,327 | 2,013 | 0 | 496 |
SYRIA | 4,185 | 587 | 13 | 1,924 |
MONTENEGRO | 4,142 | 1,790 | 38 | 311 |
SOUTH KOREA | 3,818 | 525 | 4 | 451 |
BURUNDI | 3,774 | 685 | 0 | 1,391 |
COMOROS | 3,768 | 372 | 4 | 2,174 |
ERITREA | 3,317 | 638 | 8 | 650 |
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 2,731 | 1,886 | 412 | 110 |
ZAMBIA | 2,659 | 714 | 2 | 360 |
COLOMBIA | 2,491 | 584 | 5 | 618 |
SUDAN | 2,452 | 430 | 44 | 997 |
NEW ZEALAND | 2,277 | 1,004 | 2 | 82 |
MEXICO | 2,252 | 753 | 4 | 149 |
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC | 2,211 | 378 | 0 | 527 |
CHILE | 1,931 | 738 | 10 | 360 |
BRAZIL | 1,931 | 580 | 28 | 354 |
BOTSWANA | 1,884 | 682 | 0 | 120 |
DENMARK | 1,867 | 630 | 2 | 3 |
MOLDOVA | 1,676 | 699 | 7 | 65 |
ALBANIA | 1,365 | 706 | 264 | 107 |
TAIWAN | 1,255 | 531 | 2 | 59 |
PANAMA | 1,183 | 328 | 2 | 106 |
PERU | 1,059 | 400 | 3 | 160 |
ARGENTINA | 1,047 | 263 | 5 | 185 |
NETHERLANDS | 1,034 | 476 | 6 | 92 |
MAURITIUS | 729 | 419 | 0 | 48 |
AUSTRIA | 521 | 486 | 3 | 3 |
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | 500 | 171 | 0 | 12 |
VENEZUELA | 361 | 47 | 17 | 77 |
GUATEMALA | 351 | 97 | 0 | 3 |
COSTA RICA | 318 | 143 | 3 | 2 |
MACAO S.A.R. | 309 | 96 | 0 | 27 |
SPAIN | 268 | 118 | 2 | 9 |
GERMANY | 261 | 173 | 10 | 13 |
ANDORRA | 255 | 32 | 0 | 16 |
URUGUAY | 236 | 26 | 5 | 33 |
VANUATU | 231 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
SWEDEN | 196 | 92 | 3 | 16 |
SAINT LUCIA | 168 | 34 | 0 | 17 |
FRANCE | 164 | 69 | 3 | 3 |
LUXEMBOURG | 160 | 24 | 2 | 1 |
ITALY | 159 | 41 | 10 | 12 |
SAN MARINO | 146 | 143 | 0 | 2 |
SLOVENIA | 135 | 69 | 10 | 55 |
LIBERIA | 121 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
PARAGUAY | 115 | 40 | 0 | 10 |
POLAND | 112 | 53 | 1 | 9 |
SLOVAKIA | 105 | 77 | 5 | 4 |
SWITZERLAND | 95 | 31 | 5 | 5 |
TIMOR-LESTE | 80 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
BELGIUM | 79 | 33 | 3 | 5 |
CROATIA | 69 | 41 | 8 | 8 |
LITHUANIA | 66 | 49 | 2 | 11 |
HONDURAS | 62 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
NICARAGUA | 57 | 17 | 0 | 5 |
EL SALVADOR | 56 | 31 | 0 | 1 |
PORTUGAL | 31 | 17 | 6 | 1 |
ICELAND | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
FINLAND | 28 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
HUNGARY | 20 | 14 | 0 | 2 |
MALTA | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
NORWAY | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
CZECH REPUBLIC | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
LATVIA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
ESTONIA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 10,327,572 | 4,601,134 | 102,785 | 1,632,984 |